DP World Acquires Topaz Energy and Marine

DP World PLC has announced the 100 per cent acquisition of Topaz Energy and Marine Limited (“Topaz”) from Renaissance Services SAOG and Standard Chartered Private Equity/Affirma Capital for an enterprise value of $1,079 million.

Topaz is a leading international critical logistics and solutions provider to the global energy industry. The company operates a modern, versatile fleet of 117 vessels, predominantly in the Caspian Sea, MENA, and West Africa regions. The group enjoys a particularly strong position in its core Caspian Sea market.

The Caspian Sea is the largest inland body of water in the world, and one of the most strategic oil basins. Long-term contracts and high barriers to entry characterise the basin, which holds approximately 6 per cent of global oil reserves.

Topaz also maintains long-standing relationships with many of the leading international and national oil companies, including BP, Chevron, Dragon Oil, Dubai Petroleum, ExxonMobil and Tengizchevroil.

Topaz’s enduring focus on securing long term strategic contracts has allowed it to outperform the market, and the Company’s market-leading contract backlog of $1.6 billion as of 31 March 2019, far exceeds industry benchmarks, demonstrating the success of the Company’s strategic approach.

For DP World, the transaction supports its objective of increasing the company’s presence in the global logistics and marine services industry.

DP World Group Chairman and CEO Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, said: “We are pleased to announce the acquisition of Topaz, which further strengthens DP World’s position as a world-leading operator in maritime logistics services.

“In recent years, we have been investing selectively in the marine logistics sector in companies with high revenue visibility, consistent track record and strong customer relationships.

“This latest acquisition complements the operations of our P&O Maritime Services (POMS) business, which maintains over 300 vessels globally. Much like DP World, Topaz has evolved its business, offering customers a range of logistics solutions and helping the Company outperform the industry.

“We believe that this innovative approach, together with the increased scale, will allow the combined Topaz and P&O Maritime Services business to drive efficiencies and earnings growth.

“Furthermore, this new partnership opens the door for DP World to explore new business areas more extensively, for example, increasing transit volumes through Azerbaijan within the East-West trade corridor.

“This transaction is in line with our strategy to grow our presence in marine logistics and become a solutions provider to end customers. We look forward to welcoming the Topaz team into the DP World family.”